1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pop-up magnifying system for the information screen of a flip screen telephone or other electronic device having a folding information screen.
2. Description of Related Art
Flip-type cellular or wireless telephones are typically sized to be easily held in the user's hand and, in a closed position, be of a sufficiently small size to easily fit into the user's pocket. When open, such telephones reveal an information or viewing screen for displaying telephone numbers or other functions that, due to the size limitations of the telephone, generally tends to be relatively small. For those users with poor reading vision, the small screen size presents problems in viewing the characters on the screen in order to make calls and control other functions on the device. Magnifying lenses have been proposed to increase the viewability of the screen, for example as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,151,172 and 6,275,333. However, such lenses are relatively bulky and not suitable for flip type phones or other devices where the screen is folded between a base and lid. Accordingly, there is a need for a magnifier for flip-type cellular phones and other electronic devices having information screens which does not interfere with the use or closing of the device, yet which provides easy application and enhanced magnification of the screen.